It's Just Homework
by KrystalM
Summary: Starring one of my original characters, Kimi, a 5th year Slytherin who aspires to be the best in her year. She likes Draco, and is determined that he like her back. Takes place in the Trio's 5th year.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in Harry Potter. I do own Kimi though.

A/N: This Prologue is used, for the most part, to describe Kimi

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I walk down the corridors toward the courtyard, where I would do today's potions homework. It would be empty, I knew. Most people don't see that the courtyard is so much more beautiful than that lake they all fascinate over. It's probably the giant squid that fascinates them. I smirk at the thought of one unfortunate swimmer getting grabbed by the squid itself. 

My waist-length, black hair billows out behind me, blending with my green-and-black robes. Being in Slytherin house, I walk with a certain grace and charm that is hard to describe. It just happens, if you get my meaning. Like it's a part of my being.

I see Draco in one of the halls on my way there, talking with those goons he calls friends, Crabbe and Goyle. We all know better though, right? He sees me, and I flash him one of the dazzling smiles I pride myself on, my amber eyes dancing in anticipation, wondering if he would actually smile back this time. No, not yet. Just another smirk. Gah.

He'll admit he loves me sometime soon though. I can feel it. I mean, I don't give that smile to anyone else! Nor do I give it to him for nothing. And I make sure he knows it.

_The arrogant little spoiled brat,_ I thought fondly, and started to walk up to him gracefully.

"Hey Draco!" I called, my beautiful smile now more smirk than smile.

"Hey Kimi," he replied, then sighed, "What do you want?"

My expression turned to one of false shock, and I said playfully, "Why, that's no way to treat a fellow Slytherin and admirer!"

Draco just smirked, "Oh, it's not? Make yourself worthy of my presence before you approach me next time then, maybe I'll think more of you."

I sigh, and glare at him. "Fine then, be that way. I will. Next time you see me, it will be worth your time."

I turn on my heel stubbornly (I wasn't going to be like Pansy, and beg for his attention. No, I'm much above that) and continue on my way to the courtyard, all the while thinking of ways to impress Draco. But of course, I found nothing, as I always had, and so I turned my thoughts to a more immediate matter. My potions essay. It would be a lot easier than thinking of something to woo Draco with, and I started thinking of possible starts. I still hadn't thought of one worthy of writing when I reached the empty courtyard. I told you it would be. Everyone else think it better to go out by the lake, or in the fields. Silly people. They don't have the eyes to see the undeniable beauty that is the courtyard. There was a fountain laced within the carpet of lush green grass, and runes were carved into the surface.

I pull my long hair into a loose bun, so it wouldn't get in the way of my essay, and find a dry spot of grass to sit in. I find one by a stone wall, and sit down, closing my eyes for the tiniest of moments to absorb the sun. Not that I needed it. My skin was already tan, since I was Japanese, and I had no intention of staying out long enough to taint my pale skin with the sun's harmful rays. What? It is pale, for someone of my heritage.

I see the perfect intro to the essay flash before my closed eyes, and I immediately spring back into the real world, and take out my quill and ink, and unroll my parchment. I start to write the intro, taking care to make every word neat. Professor Snape never likes it when anyone writes messily. Apparently Potter, Granger, and that Weasley didn't get that memo, because none of them writes prettily. Sure, Granger writes neatly, but it's not pretty, just a readable scrawl.

I open the notes I took in class, just for use on the essay I knew would be assigned, and start writing the first part of the essay I knew the Slytherin Head would love.

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A/N: I hope you liked it :) I know, it's a bit on the short side. Please review and let me know what you think! I have brilliant ideas in store for the next chapter ;) Well, I think so, at least. 


	2. Chapter 1: The Hex

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for Kimi. And the story, of course. Everything else belongs to JKR.

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Right now, I was relaxed. Well, as relaxed as I can be while surrounded by inferior scum that wanted to kill me just for existing. See, my parents hadn't exactly been the world's friendliest purebloods. We're not on the side of You-Know-Who, but to others, who think our reasons for arrogance and not being friendly are because of him, it must seem like we are. For this reason, I am always on guard. 

At the moment, I am sitting against a courtyard wall, enjoying the sunshine and doing potions homework. The wall was made of stone, and as such, it brought a nice contrast to the heat, with its coolness. Another reason to love the courtyard. Today's lesson - The Draught of Peace. "Easy as pie," I said aloud to myself.

Potter struggled with it, which wasn't a surprise. I had hoped that Granger girl would screw something up with this potion, with it being so complicated, but no. _Her_ potion had to be perfect. The only one other than my own. How I _hate_ sharing the spotlight with a filthy mudblood. They shouldn't _be_ that good at magic! It's unfair. She didn't grow up with magic, she doesn't understand how it works. I doubt she understands anything of it except what it _does_. I doubt she sees the beauty in potions, or in spells.

"You're so silly, Kimi," I mused out loud as she returned to the reflective essay I wanted to get done tonight. I would most certainly have more homework tomorrow. So far, it reads:

_The Draught of Peace turned out to be a rather complex potion to make. However, it was not as difficult as I imagined it would be after reading about it in textbooks. My favorite part was at the end, when the silver vapor was rising off the potion. It was so pretty, one of the perfect examples of the delicacy and grace of the art of potions._

What, I can't kiss up to the Potions Master? After all, he is my Head of House, and as such, he will probably read my essay, or another Slytherin's, first, before he got annoyed with the stupidity of the reflections everyone else wrote. Of course, everyone knows, especially the Slytherins, that he really favors Slytherin house over everyone else.

I glanced up, hearing loud, male voices approaching. I really didn't want to deal with people at the moment, unless it was Draco. And these voices were definitely not coming from him. Looks like I would have to sacrifice the beautiful day outside in favor of the Slytherin common room. Well, at least I will get to see Draco.

I started packing up my stuff, putting the cork in my ink bottle, and flicking the extra ink off my black quill before putting it into my bag. I started to roll up my parchment, taking care to cast a drying spell on it beforehand, when I saw who exactly was producing the voices I had heard. _'Great. Just what I need right now. Potter and the Weasel.' _I was even less keen on staying any longer now, and I stood up, preparing to leave. I could carry my parchment.

Well, that turned out to be exactly the wrong thing to do, because they spotted me, an vengeful look in their eyes. _'Ugh. What did Draco do to them this time? Why today? Why can't I just do my homework in peace?'_

"Oy! Kimi! What do you think you're doing out here? Aren't you _Slytherins-_" the Weasel started, putting an unfriendly tone on my house's name, and making it clear exactly what he thought of it, "-supposed to be in your common room, or out hexing someone?"

I made to leave, but they blocked my way. "What do you want?" I asked coolly.

"Oh, nothing. Just you to give a message to precious Drac-"

I pushed past them while Weasley was talking, not wanting to hear what the message was, and saw an opportunity to _impress_ Draco, make myself _worthy of his presence. _I cackled silently at my brilliant plan, and whispered a hex directed at the two before they were out of sight, staying just long enough to see Potter and Weasel's hair fall out. I suppressed a giggle as I saw the look on the Weasel's face. They can't really go and report me, seeing as if someone came to accuse me of it, I could just admit it and say that they were harassing me. Which, they probably were getting around to it. I'd have to go find that filthy mudblood, and soon. It wouldn't do at all if they didn't match, and if Potter and Weasel got to her before I did, and warned her...I shuddered. Perhaps it will be a blessing in disguise, and her hair will grow back normally, not all bushy like it was now.

I walked down the corridor that led to the library, knowing I might find here there. The bookworm. It would be too easy to just zap the hex at her from behind a bookshelf. Oh, and the look on Draco's face when he saw them tomorrow morning. _'And the way he'd worship me when I did what he only dreamt of doing'_ I thought. Of course, he'd know about it before I said anything, but not the full extent.

As I suspected, I found her there, in the library, reading a book on Transfiguration. I rolled my eyes and pretended to be looking for a book. God, that hair was infuriating! Why can't she brush it once in a while? You can't tell me she actually _likes_ it like that. Or that she doesn't mind it at all. I mean, it would drive me bonkers! I'll be doing her a favor, getting rid of the mess. With that thought, I silently cast the same hex I had used on the other two, and this time, I couldn't take it. I burst out laughing as I saw her face, and her now-bald head. She immediately looked around, and I turned to run.

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A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger! Well, not really..xP I couldn't think of another good place to end it where it was longer..Anyway...I hope everyone liked it, and I'll have the next chapter up...Hopefully soon. 

Please review and let me know what you think! Is it too plot-less? I'm currently writing without a set plot..I have ideas I'd like to put into the fic, but as to how...I don't know yet. Anyway..Should I get one? xD

Just one more thing, I promise... xP ...Are the chapters too short?


	3. Chapter 2: Uh Oh

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or any of the characters in it, though sometimes I wish I did. Did you know JKR is worth more than the Queen of England? xDD Fun little trivia.

Anyway...Here's the chapter!

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'_Oh, great. Why couldn't I just keep my stupid mouth shut?' _I asked myself. If I had just muffled my laughter, and waited until I was out of the library to burst out laughing, I wouldn't be in mortal danger, of getting detention, that is, and I probably wouldn't be caught. Not that I woul— 

I fell on the floor with a thud that interrupted my train of thought. _'Damn that mudblood!'_ I thought, examining my legs. That filthy being had cast a jelly-legs jinx on me! Fortunately, I knew the countercurse. Unfortunately, Granger had caught up with me by this time I realized this, and I had no chance of escaping detention, even if I could escape an angry Granger.

"Give.Me.My.Hair.Back.Now," she said, spacing the words, exaggerating each syllable. Wait, those were only one syllable words, weren't they? Should've known.

"Sorry _Granger_, I can't. You'll just have to wait for it to grow back now, won't you?" I wasn't about to lose myself because she was angry. I wasn't about to be a coward, like Draco was in his third year when Granger had threatened him. I smirked at the event. It was a rude wake-up call for Draco, but I must say, he deserved it then. He was being a right bastard, even to his fellow housemates.

Another mistake, because she thought the smirk was directed at her. Gah, why was she so _stupid_?

"Besides," I continued to taunt, "I did you a favor. You don't know how much your hair _infuriated_ me. How could you stand it? Now, maybe you can take a brush to it as it grows back, and it will be like _normal _hair when it's back to its normal length."

This must have infuriated her, because her face looked much more angry than it had just two seconds ago. She drew her wand and pointed it at me. I clasped my hands around my own wand, prepared for anything, but mostly prepared to just cast a simple shield charm.

"I'll just have Madame Pomfrey grow it back, and I won't have to worry about any of this." she said, and prepared to cast something at me.

Fortunately for me, I wasn't forced to use magic and have more reasons for a detention piled on me, because at that moment, a Professor walked into the corridor. _Un_fortunately for me, it was McGonagall. Crap. Why couldn't it have been Professor Snape? I would've gotten off then. I growled at my luck.

"Miss Sosuke, Miss Granger," she greeted, in a business-like tone, "What are you two doing? It isn't common to see a Gryffindor and a Slytherin together, for any reason. And _why_," she continued, as if she had just seen Granger, "is Miss Granger bald?"

"Professor, she hexed me!" the mudblood accused. Filthy little being.

"She provoked me!" I retaliated.

"_How_ in the world did I provoke you?" she argued, "I stay as far away from you Slytherins as I can!"

"Girls, enough," McGonagall said, her tone stern now, her head turning toward me, "Did you hex Miss Granger?"

I hesitated, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to lie my way out of this one, and sighed in defeat. Well, not total defeat. I'd get Granger back later. "Yes ma'am."

"Detention, tonight at 7:00 sharp, in my office. Both of you."

Hermione's was gaping like a fish. I was just shocked, and a smug smirk spread across my face.

"B-But Professor, I didn't do anything!" Granger practically wailed.

"I don't recall Miss Sosuke being one for casting a jelly-legs jinx on herself, Hermione." McGonagall explained as she cast the countercurse for the jinx.

Granger looked down. "Oh." Was all she could say. "Well, can I go to the hospital wing and have Madame Pomfrey grow it back? Before detention?"

"No, I'm afraid that won't be possible." McGonagall explained, "Madame Pomfrey is in London right now, restocking her supplies. She won't be back until tomorrow evening."

"WHAT?!?" Granger exclaimed, "You mean I have to go around like _this,_" she gestured at her head, "all day tomorrow??"

"I'm afraid so, Hermione," McGonagall said, but her face looked slightly amused. Ah, a woman after my heart. Well, in some areas. But you couldn't help but to be amused at Granger's head now. It was so _funny_!

I was actually glad that I hadn't cast the countercurse by myself. After all, if I had, Granger would have gotten off completely.

Looks like I would have a detention to serve tonight. I sighed. Well, McGonagall's not known for harsh punishments, at least.

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How'd everyone like it? Please review Cause reviewers are cool and have my undying appreciation ;) 


	4. Chapter 3: An evening of Gryffindor Hell

Disclaimer: I don't own Hermione, McGonagall, or any of the characters in Harry Potter, though Kimi does belong to me. I wouldn't mind having Draco by my side though. But what girl wouldn't?

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I trudged toward detention, not wanting to go – even in the least. I had seen Draco in the common room shortly before I had to go, and told him the story. What infuriated me was that he seemed to not give a crap about it! Even worse, he seemed disgusted at me because I used a hex in school. And got a detention for it. I was _so_ close to hexing _him_ too. As if I hadn't gotten in enough trouble today. I'm sure he'll think better of me once he sees the precious trio tomorrow.

'_Maybe it was one of those things where you had to see it to get it.' _ I thought, and I sure hoped so. I mean, I really wouldn't have done anything to them, had it not been for him. But I couldn't tell him that. I told him the story I was sure he would have wanted to hear.

By the time I turned all of this over in my mind, from wondering what I had presented wrong to his reaction, even to the possibility that he simply didn't like me! But we all know I'm just being paranoid.

I walked up to the door, gathering up my pride, and knocked boldly on Professor McGonagall's door.

"Come in," was the brief acknowledgement. I opened the door, hoping that I was here before Granger. I could have one point against her then. Of course, I was. I had left reasonably early. I can't imagine _she_ would have had nothing better to do before this hell, what with everyone in her common room gawking at what happened to herself and her _playmates_.

"Miss Sosuke, you're here early. Have a seat, while we wait for Miss Granger," she said, gesturing to one of the chairs opposite herself.

I sighed and sat down, making sure every movement portrayed my distaste of being here. It was too _red_, too much like the Gryffindor Common Room. Well, what I imagined it would be like. It needed some green. Or even _black_ would do. Just, something other than _that_ infernal color.

After what seemed like ages, I heard a light tap on the door. _'God, she doesn't even know how to be _sure_ of herself!' _I thought, annoyed with her already. Oh, please, don't say I have to serve my detention with that abomination! I silently prayed.

"Today, you two will be organizing my bookshelves, alphabetically. They've been getting seriously out of order lately," McGonagall said sharply, "I've been letting students borrow them. I've set aside two of the bookcases for each of you. No magic may be used. If any of the books are in poor condition, in need of repairing," she conjured a clipboard and piece of paper for each of us, "You will write it down."

I sighed. This was going to be a long night. Those bookshelves were huge! I suppose I had better get to work then…Like any reasonable person, I wanted to get to bed at a decent hour. I needed my beauty sleep.

I grudgingly got started. At first, the titles all stuck out to me. Some even sounded interesting, and I contemplated, for a fleeting moment, of asking her to borrow them. I knew better though. As if I would actually read them in a reasonable amount of time, with all my schoolwork. I would ask her later, maybe to borrow them over the summer. At least I'd have something to do then.

As I went on, only the interesting titles stuck out. I longed for my common room, for my nice green bed. The red was starting to give me a headache. I groaned.

"What's wrong?" Granger whispered, a slight sneer in her voice, "Getting tired? Don't forget, you're the one who got us into this mess."

"Excuse me? Had you just accepted the fact, we wouldn't be here. You could have just pretended to not hear my laugh, and I would be in my common room, away from all this _red_, and you would be doing whatever it is _you_ do at night! Don't _even_ blame this on me." I retaliated, getting more irritated by her presence every minute. I glanced at the clock.

"Don't worry, we're not out of here until we're both done." She assured me. Then, getting back on the topic of argument, "Had you not hexed me, it would be the same!"

"Oh, but I had to, you see. It wouldn't do for –"

At this point, McGonagall decided it would be a fine time to end our argument with a quiet but firm, "Girls, back to work."

I contentedly returned to my work, now that some of the tension had been relieved from the room. I went back to reading titles and making mental note of which ones I may like to borrow over the summer, and making physical note of any of the books that needed a new binding, had extensively tattered pages, or anything that would need repairing.

Eventually, I did finish. I looked at the clock, and in horror realized it was already 10:00. _'Wow, that took longer than I had thought a detention could..' _I thought, but not without regret. Seeing the mudblood bald was well worth the three hours of organizing the books.

"Professor, I'm done. Can I go now?" I said eagerly.

"Yes, you can. Thank you, Miss Sosuke." The elderly Professor replied.

I bounced eagerly out of the room, but not before I saw _her_ get up. Apparently she was done right after I was. Well, at least I had still been first.

I walked toward the common room, all of a sudden nervous about what Draco's reaction to me would be. I slipped into a bathroom on the way, to touch up on my appearance. Hey, it wouldn't hurt. I smoothed out my robe, and used my magic to touch up on my makeup, which, by now, was nonexistent, worn off over the course of the long day.

When I was as satisfied as I was going to get with how I looked, I smugly strolled out of the bathroom, making sure that my posture reflected my self-worth. I walked into the common room with much a sense of dignity, and scanned the common room. To my surprise, I saw that Draco wasn't there. I sighed, getting slightly put-out by the simple thought, but, being myself, I kept my attitude. I gracefully walked into my dormitory, and after changing into my pajamas, (a silk top and pants, in case you were wondering. They look rather good on me.) I got underneath the covers and swiftly fell asleep.

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How was that one? I liked it. xP

Again, please review! It's nice to know what everyone thinks, you know? Well, maybe not…Not many of you are reviewing. –pokes lurkers–

xDD

Anyway, I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, though they'll be more spaced out until I get everything up-to-speed on HPFF.


	5. Chapter 4: The Day After

Mkay, so this chapter took forever. I know, and I'm sorry. But I had to wait for HPFF...It desprately needed to be caught up with the times. Heh. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I like how it turned out.

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I woke up the next morning, and looked at my clock. 5:33. In the morning. I groaned, willing myself back to sleep, but I knew better. I could never fall asleep after I woke up. It's just something I never did when I was little, so I can't do it now.

Now, I lay awake on my back, thinking about the upcoming day. I smirked, and decided that I needed a nice, long, hot bath. I gathered my bath things, along with a change of clothes, and got up to go take it.

After dozing off, and glaring at the large serpent statue in the corner for looking at me funny, I was eventually finished with everything. And it was still around a half hour before it was a reasonable time to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast. So, I went to look over homework.

After gathering up everything I would need for the day, I plopped myself down into an armchair, and looked over my Potions essay, correcting the parts I thought didn't sound right. About halfway through my editing, a sleepy voice interrupted my thought process.

"Hey Kimi," Draco yawned sleepily, "How long 'ave you been up?"

"Oh, only since around . What time is it now?" I replied simply.

"Damn, you wake up early!" he exclaimed, "And it's 7 now."

"Just because _you're _a heavy sleeper…" I replied playfully, "Guess what?"

"I get to see your _marvelous _work of accomplishment from yesterday?" Draco replied, everything about him looking bored at the idea—except his eyes, which were apparently working very hard to not show interest.

"Yep! I'm sure you'll be more excited about it once you actually see them all. It's one of the most hilarious things I've ever laid eyes on!"

"Okay. I'll do my best to try and act interested when I see them, but don't count on it. I really can't _believe_ you only got a detention for it," he sighed, "Had I done something like that, I would have had more than just one detention. Sometimes I hate having Lucius for a dad."

I dropped the playfulness, shocked at the thought that probably wasn't meant to come out. "Wha—Why? He's one of the richest men in our world!"

He flinched, backing up what I had thought. "Oh. Just…" Draco seemed reluctant to say anything else, but continued anyway, "Everyone sensible knows that he's a Death Eater, and he's not exactly known for being nice. He gets what he wants by buying it, no matter what it is. But, by me being his son, everyone thinks I'm like that too, and really, I'd never do some of the stuff he does."

"Oh, Draco!" I threw my arms around him in a hug, "That's not fair at all."

Draco returned the hug, and when we pulled away, he had regained his legendary Slytherin composure. "I'm going to go take a shower. _You,_" he drawled, "Should go down to the library. The Mudblood's probably been down there for a couple of hours, looking for a way to regrow her hair before everyone has to see it."

I had never thought of that. Granger knew the library by heart. If she was there, looking for a hair regrowth spell…I'd just have to make sure none of the books were there when she looked.

"I'm going down the library," I announced.

"Have fun with that." Draco smirked, "I'll probably end up coming down there after though. I want to look up something before classes."

"Oh, I will. See you there in a bit, then?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," was the absentminded reply that I got. Oh well, at least we were on good terms again.

I left the common room, and purposefully glided to the library, my robes billowing behind me. Oh, how I loved that feel of superiority when first years glanced in my direction, apprehensive at my presence. _'I'd make a fine Slytherin Head of House when Professor Snape retires,'_ I thought to myself.

When I reached the library, _she_ was, indeed, there. I looked around, and saw she was in the charm section. Maybe it was just my paranoia, but she probably _was_ looking for a charm to restore the bushy mess she called hair.

"What are _you_ doing?" I sneered.

She made no indication that she had heard me. "Harry! Ron! Found one!"

They were all still bald, but Granger had a book in her hands, and had gotten her wand out.  
No. She wasn't going to screw this up for me. I drew my wand.

"Expelliarmus!"

All three of their wands shot out of their hands, and toward me.

That mudblood glared at me with a look of pure loathing, and sprinted toward me, toward her wand. I picked them up swiftly, but while I was bending down, she slammed into me, grabbing her wand in the process, and disarmed me.

I looked around, seeing no one else was there. If she wanted to, it would be all too easy to put some jinx on me, perform whatever spell she had found in the book, and leave me to be late for classes. I prepared myself for the worst. Granger looked in the book, and raised her wand, performing the charm to regrow Weasel's and Potter's hair, in that order.

It just wasn't fair! Draco was supposed to see this before they got the chance to do this, and he didn't get to. Damn her for ruining everything today! I smacked the ground in frustration, and heard laughter.

_'Oh, just stop it already. You beat me, whatever. I'll get you back later.' _I thought maliciously.

But the laughter sounded familiar. Something I'd heard too many times to mistake for anyone else's.

I looked up from the ground, toward the source of the laugh. "Draco!" I exclaimed.

"Accio Kimi's wand!" Draco cast, and held out my wand toward me. "Great job, I must say."

"Thanks." I said, in response to both him getting my wand and his praise. I could leave, now that Draco had at least seen that mudblood. After all, it was her he most hated, because he had always worked so hard to beat her in everything.

"Try not to get yourself into this mess again. I may not _feel _like helping you out of it next time." he said with a wink.

"Yeah, okay," I said dismissively, "I'm going down to breakfast. You coming?"

"Yea, I suppose, in a minute."

"Oh, you were going to look up something, weren't you?"

"Yep. I'll meet you down there, in around ten minutes."

I nodded and headed out of the library, to the Great Hall. I swept into the large room, and sat myself down in a still-half-empty Slytherin table. I got myself a plate, and got some fruit, and a spoonful of scrambled eggs. I picked at it for a bit, not feeling very hungry at all. The excitement from this morning was plenty to fill me up.

I jumped slightly as a voice greeted me. "Hey Kimi!"

"Hey Pansy," I said, more out of the courtesy I only ever exhibited for the Slytherins whose parents posed a threat, "How are you?"

"Not bad. Hey, have you seen Draco?" she asked.

"He was going to the library, said something about needing to look something up," I answered, reluctantly, "but he didn't seem too keen on having company."

Pansy's face fell. "Oh, okay. I'll see him later then, I guess."

"Yeah, most likely. I don't think he's coming to breakfast either." I lied. I really did not feel like competing with Pansy for Draco's affections today. Not like any competition would be necessary.

"Okay. See you in Potions?" she asked.

"Yea, of course."

Draco and I had talked for a bit while we were eating, and I had gone down to my dormitory, to get my stuff for class. He had brought it all to breakfast with him, so he was going straight to Potions.

I figured I'd be sitting next to Draco today, seeing as he _had _to like me, after what I did to Granger. But when I entered the classroom and started to sit down by him, he thought otherwise.

"Not today, Kimi," he said with a serious smirk. I huffed and sat instead in the table in front of him. _'Fine, be that way,'_ I thought to myself, _'Though you'll wish you hadn't taken my affections for granted.' _

I smiled devilishly, a plan forming in my head, when Granger walked in. She had regrown her hair, as I knew she would have. But instead of the bush she used to have, something else had taken its place.

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Muahaha, cliffie for you! Review? Reviews are much appreciated!


	6. Chapter 5: A Long Year?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except what I do. I own the plot and Kimi. I think that's it. :P

Hope you guys like this chapter! And much thanks to Holly, my beta :)

And I do finally have a plot all set up! Yaaaay! xD

Sorry this chapter took so long...I've been overwhelmed with school and tennis.. :/

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I could not believe it. I really never thought _she_, of all people, would ever have tame hair. Yet here she was, her hair somewhat straight, and shiny. Granger started toward her seat, whispering to me as she passed.

"I took your advice, by the way. You know, about brushing my hair." she said softly in a taunting kind of voice.

I merely glared at her, bewildered. She had taken my advice? Well, of course she had, seeing what she had done to her hair. But it was still hard to believe. I mean, why would she? Had she finally realized that she was an eyesore? I had never taken her for the self-conscious type. All I saw in her was an annoying mudblood know-it-all.

Draco leaned forward in his seat, and said to me, "Can you believe it? The mudblood actually looks kind of pretty."

I turned in my seat and glanced at him, in a skeptical sort of way. "You're kidding, right?" I said, "I see no difference. She just straightened her hair. Poorly, I might add. I still see waves."

At this point, Professor Snape swept into the room, and everyone quieted down. He summoned all our essays from the previous day, and looked down to make sure all of them were there. Apparently they were, because he put them on his desk and proceeded to teach today's lesson.

"Miss Granger, your new _hairstyle_ does not give you the privilege of talking while I am trying to teach." He scolded, "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"I-I'm sorry Professor, I was just a—"

"Everyone turn your books to page seventy-two." The Professor interrupted, clearly not caring about the mudblood's excuses.

I opened my book, and saw the page was on Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts. Professor Snape started to outline what the book said, and knowing he would not care if Draco and I talked while he was doing this, as long as it was quiet, I turned around in my seat. Draco looked as bored as I did.

He saw me turn. "I never said I'd go out with the filthy mudblood," he scorned.

"If you insist."

The rest of Potions class was spent studying effects of the ingredients of confusing draughts. I had decided to finish working out the finer details of the plan I had thought of before Granger walked into the class, and I decided to put it into action straight away. When the bell rang, I packed up my stuff and walked out of the class without a backward glance.

Later in the day, after dinner and while I was sitting in the common room, Draco came up to me and sat down. Wow, this was a first.

"Kimi, what's up? You've been all strange. Is it something about Granger?" he asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

"Nothing. _Really_." I said firmly. I had told him this many times throughout the day. Ever since I had put my plan into action. A plan to answer him, but seem uninterested. I was stealing his attitude, in my own way. Let him see how it feels to me to be left out like that. The part I had overlooked was that I had never acted like that. I had always fawned over him, but he had never done that to me. So there was no change in him, just his normal, arrogant attitude. But it was still working, in a way, so I kept it up.

The ultimate goal of this plan was to make him see that he likes me more than he admits, even to himself. I know, it sounds farfetched, but it's worked before, with other people.

"Though, I _was_ really surprised about what Granger had done with her hair today." I admitted, and added, "Especially because I suggested it, after I hexed her."

"_You_ suggested _that_?" he asked, in the tone I used when he said Granger looked halfway decent.

"I didn't think she would even _consider_ using it," I said defensively, and shrugged. "I just said it to tick her off, maybe make her think, lower her self esteem a bit. But actually use my advice? I didn't think she would, not in a million years."

"_Really?_ If you say so." He sounded not entirely convinced, but I would deal with that.

I suddenly remembered I was supposed to be acting uninterested, so I returned to the homework I still hadn't started, continuing the conversation with 'Hm's and 'Ah's at the right points.

I think it actually _was_ working, because even though he wasn't receiving a proper response, he kept talking. However, as most people would, he got bored and eventually left to go hang out with his goons. Crabbe and Goyle, in case you didn't already know that.

By the next potions lesson, a few days later, we had progressed. Draco and I were actively exchanging conversation, and he was inviting me to sit by him—In the classes we had together. In potions once, we even got a warning from Professor Snape, which is a first, really.

Seeing this drastic change, I finally worked up the courage to ask Draco that fateful question. We were walking on the grounds after classes, and it was just starting to get chilly. The ground wasn't so much green grass now, but more dead grass, leaves that had fallen off trees, and frost, in the early hours.

"Draco, do you want to.." I paused, thinking of the right way to phrase it, "..Do you wanna be my boyfriend?" The words ran together slightly, but that didn't matter right now.

He kind of looked at me, in an indiscernible expression. At the moment, I would give almost anything to know exactly what he was thinking.

But he blushed. The one time I've seen Draco blush, and it's because of me. Wow, here's a sight. A few seconds later, the blush was replaced by a smile—a real, live smile. The one I've been trying to get for a long time. of course, though, it was replaced with the smirk again after he said, "Sure, why not?"

I was delighted. I smiled, gave a teensy squeal, and threw myself onto him. He jumped, obviously not _entirely_ expecting this, but clearly expecting something similar, and the next second he was halfheartedly pushing me away.

"Hey, hey, not so fast. You've gotta earn that privilege." He said, all traces of arrogance in his voice.

I rolled my eyes, pulled myself away, and settled for holding hands. We walked toward the castle and Slytherin common room like that. When we got inside, he said goodnight, and we went to our separate dormitories. He said I still hadn't earned that hug privilege, so I'd just have to wait. I sighed when I heard that, but I've accepted the fact.

I smiled to myself walking up the stairs, which had serpent engravings on them, of course. This was the beginning of what I was _sure _would be a long and happy relationship.

The next day, walking through the corridors with Draco, I noticed there were many whispers about Granger and her new look, mostly from the guys. They flaunted toward her like she was a magnet, and she had, amazingly, adapted to the part. Of course, she was still an unwaveringly annoying know-it-all, but she 'wears the look' differently now, strutting around the castle. Kind of like I used to do, before I realized I didn't need to. An elegant, light, smooth step was all I needed.

And, to tell the truth, a strut looked _horrible_ on Granger. It made her look like she thought she was all that, and that all the guys loved her, made her look conceited. Which, she was. I mean, you can't get a new hairstyle and, all of a sudden, start acting like that. You know? Maybe not.

Pondering all this, I had let the hand holding Draco's clench into a fist, and Draco had stopped, looking at me kind of oddly.

"Sorry," I said, relaxing my hand, then continued in a more menacing voice, "Just thinking about the newly self-conceited mudblood."

"Oh, yeah. It's really annoying. After all, they only like her because she's somewhat pretty now," Draco scorned, "It's really low, both for them to be doing that and for the mudblood to be encouraging it."

"I know! She needs a wake-up call." I said maliciously.

"Now, don't go getting yourself another detention. We wouldn't want that."

"No…of course not," I said, knowing he was right and hating it. Then an idea sparked. "But I don't _have_ to do anything that will get me a detention. I _could_ just sabotage one of her potions…Professor Snape won't give me a detention. He'll say it was her own incompetence."

"True, true," he mused.

We walked down the corridor to the Great Hall for dinner, hand in hand. When we got to the Entrance Hall, we saw Granger there, acting like she was all that, yet again. We made to move into the Great Hall, but she spotted us first, and came up to me.

"I guess I never properly thanked you for the advice," she said, trying to keep a somewhat pleasant tone, though she couldn't help but add, "Not that you'd care if I did or not, but thanks anyway."

I rolled my eyes. "At least I'm not encouraging the fact that people like me just because I'm pretty." I retaliated, and turned on my heel, sweeping into the Great Hall, dragging Draco with me, before she could figure out what I had meant.

This was going to be a long year…

* * *

Well? I hope it was worth the wait :) Let me know what you thought! The next chapter will be submitted in a week or so, depending on the amount of time I have. 


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